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Expression and regulation of microRNAs is an emerging issue in erythroid differentiation and globin gene expression in hemoglobin disorders. In the first part of this study microarray analysis was performed both in mithramycin-induced K562 cells and erythroid precursors from healthy subjects or β-thalassemia patients producing low or high levels of fetal hemoglobin. We demonstrated that: (a) microRNA-210 expression is higher in erythroid precursors from β-thalassemia patients with high production of fetal hemoglobin; (b) microRNA-210 increases as a consequence of mithramycin treatment of K562 cells and human erythroid progenitors both from healthy and β-thalassemia subjects; (c) this increase is associated with erythroid induction and elevated expression of γ-globin genes; (d) an anti-microRNA against microRNA-210 interferes with the mithramycin-induced changes of gene expression. In the second part of the study we have obtained convergent evidences suggesting raptor mRNA as a putative target of microRNA-210. Indeed, microRNA-210 binding sites of its 3'-UTR region were involved in expression and are targets of microRNA-210-mediated modulation in a luciferase reporter assays. Furthermore, (i) raptor mRNA and protein are down-regulated upon mithramycin-induction both in K562 cells and erythroid progenitors from healthy and β-thalassemia subjects. In addition, (ii) administration of anti-microRNA-210 to K562 cells decreased endogenous microRNA-210 and increased raptor mRNA and protein expression. Finally, (iii) treatment of K562 cells with premicroRNA-210 led to a decrease of raptor mRNA and protein. In conclusion, microRNA-210 and raptor are involved in mithramycin-mediated erythroid differentiation of K562 cells and participate to the fine-tuning and control of γ-globin gene expression in erythroid precursor cells.

Differentiation-therapy is an important approach in the treatment of cancer, as in the case of erythroid induction in chronic myelogenous leukemia. Moreover, an important therapeutic strategy for treating beta-thalassemia and sickle-cell anemia could be the use of drugs able to induce erythroid differentiation and fetal hemoglobin (HbF) accumulation: in fact, the increased production of this type of hemoglobin can reduce the clinical symptoms and the frequency of transfusions. An important class of erythroid differentiating compounds and HbF inducers is composed by DNA-binding chemotherapeutics: however, they are not used in most instances considering their possible devastating side effects. In this contest, we approached the study of erythrodifferentiating properties of furocoumarins. In fact, upon UV-A irradiation, they are able to covalently bind DNA. Thus, the erythrodifferentiation activity of some linear and angular furocoumarins was evaluated in the experimental K562 cellular model system. Quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase-chain reaction assay was employed to evaluate the accumulation of different globin mRNAs. The results demonstrated that both linear and angular furocoumarins are strong inducers of erythroid differentiation of K562 cells. From a preliminary screening, we selected the most active compounds and investigated the role of DNA photodamage in their erythroid inducing activity and mechanism of action. Moreover, some cytofluorimetric experiments were carried out to better study cell cycle modifications and the mitochondrial involvement. A further development of the work was carried out studying the erythroid differentiation of photolysis products of these molecules. 5,5'-Dimethylpsoralen photoproducts induced an important increase in γ-globin gene transcription in K562 cells., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Thalassemia and sickle-cell anemia (SCA) present a major public health problem in countries where the number of carriers and affected individuals is high. As a result of the abnormalities in hemoglobin production, cells of thalassemia and SCA patients exhibit oxidative stress, which ultimately is responsible for the chronic anemia observed. Therefore, identification of compounds exhibiting both antioxidant and hemoglobin-inducing activities is highly needed. Our results demonstrate resveratrol to be such a compound. This was shown both in the human K562 cell line, as well as in erythroid precursors derived from normal donors and β-thalassemia patients. Resveratrol was shown to exhibit antioxidant activity and to stimulate the expression of the γ-globin genes and the accumulation of fetal hemoglobin (HbF). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report pointing to such a double effect of resveratrol. Since this natural product is already marketed as an antioxidant, future investigations should concentrate on demonstrating its potential to augment HbF production in experimental animal models (e.g., thalassemia and SCA mice) as well as in patients. We believe that the potential of clinical use of resveratrol as an antioxidant and HbF stimulator may offer a simple and inexpensive treatment to patients.

The K562 cell line has been proposed as a useful experimental system to identify anti-tumor compounds acting by inducing terminal erythroid differentiation. K562 cells exhibit a low proportion of hemoglobin-synthesizing cells under standard cell growth conditions, but are able to undergo terminal erythroid differentiation when treated with a variety of anti-tumor compounds. In this paper we report a screening study on a set of different modified C(5) uracil derivatives for the evaluation of their antiproliferative effect in connection with erythroid differentiation pathways, and for defining a new class of drug candidates for the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia. Activity of the derivatives tested can be classified in two effect: an antiproliferative effect linked to a high level of erythroid differentiation activity and an antiproliferative effect without activation of gamma globin genes The highest antiproliferative effect and erythroid induction was shown by compound 9, a thymine derivative bearing a n-octyl chain on nitrogen N(1), whereas thymine did not show any effect, suggesting the importance of the linear alkyl chain in position N(1). To our knowledge this compound should be considered among the most efficient inducers of erythroid differentiation of K562 cells. This work is the starting point for the quest of more effective and specific drugs for the induction of terminal erythroid differentiation, for leading new insights in the treatment of neoplastic diseases with molecules acting by inducing differentiation rather than by simply exerting cytotoxic effects., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The synthesis of C5 linked uracil dimers was carried out according to a model developed in order to bind adenine in DNA. N1-Alkylated uracil derivatives were synthesized from isoorotic acid (uracil-5-carboxylic acid) or thymine. The carboxylic acid derivatives were condensed with diamines in order to produce dimeric compounds or with monoamines in order to obtain reference monomeric compounds. Some of the derivatives, in particular the uracil dimers, showed antiproliferative and erythroid differentiation induction properties towards human chronic myelogenous leukemia K562 cells, thus indicating that these compounds could represent a new class of drugs useful for the development of antitumor therapy based on the ability to induce terminal differentiation.